Queensryche Drummer On Album-Making Process

Tuesday, August 16th, 2016

Does Queensryche take advantage of new technology while making albums or do they rely on a tried-and-tested formula from the past, drummer Scott Rockenfield said: “I think we take it from record to record, basically. I think our career, from the beginning, has kind of been a variety of creative changes and evolution as we’ve gone through… I think what we do is we make music and then we approach the recording in very different… I mean, there’s a bunch of different variables. One is, what is the music like, and what does it need? And how do we wanna make that sound? And then, who are we gonna work with? And how are they gonna bring some inspiration to the sound of the record and creative input to what we’re doing. I think, no matter what, it’s always gonna be a Queensryche thing, just ’cause the elements are… the recipe… the ingredients are the same. But I think we just approach it differently and find out what happens.”

Rockenfield also talked about Queensryche’s recent collaborations with producers Chris “Zeuss” Harris and James “Jimbo” Barton. He said: “We’ve been fortunate, because the people that we’ve gotten to work with have been familiar with the band, [and] they enjoy what we do. Like Zeuss, for example, when we got to know him in the beginning, he wanted to come in and make a Queensryche record. He’s, like, ‘I’m a big fan. I’ve certainly followed your career for a long time. This would be a great opportunity. I don’t wanna come in here and make a Zeuss record and make you guys adhere to me. I really wanna come in and do what you guys feel is best, and I love the heritage of what you’ve done. If I can add anything to it, and you’re interested, then let’s see what happens when we do that. But we don’t need to stray and do something completely out in the left field just ’cause I’m making the record.’ You know, his legacy was kind of in a different realm more so… he did a lot of metal bands and other things, so he was really interested in doing something different for himself as well. So I think the marriage of the two, in that type of fashion, which we’ve also done in the past as well with some of the other producers we’ve worked with, is you find what works best together for the band, and then also for the producer, to try to feel where you meet, how you make it work. And we’ve been lucky and fortunate that we got great choices.”

Queensryche will embark on a month-long headlining tour of the United States in November. Support on the trek will come from Armored Saint and Midnight Eternal.

Queensryche hired singer Todd La Torre to replace Geoff Tate in 2012 and has released two albums with the ex-Crimson Glory frontman: 2013’s “Queensrÿche” and “Condition Hüman”.

“Condition Hüman” debuted at No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 14,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8, 2015.

Queensryche will enter the studio in January 2017 to begin work on the follow-up to “Condition Hüman”.